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Don’t Miss the Most Exciting Week of the Year! Hour of Code – It’s for Everyone!

Just a year ago, an international movement called Hour of Code began. The concept is really simple… give kids an opportunity to experience coding for just one hour. Computers aren’t even required!

But the outcome can be phenomenal. Last year over 15 million students participated in a one-hour event as part of Hour of Code Week, and more girls tried computer science last year than in the last 70 years! We often talk about the importance of college and career readiness….In just one hour we can have an enormous impact on kids by opening their eyes to a new world of opportunities. In this digital age nearly everything we touch and interact with is the result of coding. Simply having a better understanding of the concepts (which certainly reinforce math, science, technology, engineering, logic, critical thinking, problem solving and much more) can open doors for kids and give them the power to explore and interact with their world.

And thanks to the support of many businesses, entrepreneurs, and people passionate about coding, it couldn’t be easier to participate.

How do you get started?

Step 1: Find an hour in your schedule during the week of Dec. 8 – 12 that your class or classes could participate.

Step 2: Go to http://hourofcode.com/us to sign up to Host an event. (That just means you are committing to offering this opportunity to your students and it will qualify you for some awesome prizes!)

Step 3: After you register, check out the Resources page to find lots of lesson plans and tutorials that you can use with your students – K-12. Some don’t even require any kind of technology, so don’t let that stand in your way. http://hourofcode.com/us/resources/how-to

Step 4: Tell your colleagues. Don’t let any student in your school miss out on this great opportunity.

Step 5: Have fun! Lead your activity in December and spark the imagination of your students.

I’m very excited about this event and will be in a couple of schools helping lead lessons too, because I don’t want to miss out on the fun. Let me know how it goes in your class. I’m always excited to see how we can open our kids eyes to the future and the world around them. I promise it will be an experience you won’t forget.

And if you get really excited….get your whole school on board. Southern Elementary made it a school-wide event last year through their STEM lab and were even selected to win a $10,000 prize for technology. Still not convinced? Watch this video promoting Hour of Code 2014. I promise this will be an hour well spent!